Join Jill’s Literacy League
Formed in 2020 in memory of Jill Barr, a University Heights mother who died of complications of pneumonia in February 2018, the Literacy League is the volunteer corps of The Literacy Cooperative’s Imagination Library program.
Jill Barr majored in English in college and loved to read. She also loved to help. She is remembered by friends and family as someone who always stepped up to fill any need, sprinkling acts of kindness wherever she went. She was the consummate volunteer, taking on the work of many with an ever-present smile on her face. Literacy was one of her pet projects, according to her husband Rob, who said she organized the reading volunteers at Canterbury School in Cleveland Heights, where her children attended elementary school.
Here at The Literacy Cooperative, we believe that the books mailed to children each month each represent a tiny act of kindness. Multiply the number of books by the number of times each one is read by a child or their caregiver and all of these combined, done in Jill’s memory, represent a massive ripple of resilience, brain-building, kindness, and literacy development in our community.
We need help making sure that Imagination Library books get into the community! If you can spare a few hours here and there, we’ll work with you to find the best jobs to do.
Possible duties:
- Removing wrapping and labels from returned books
- A variety of jobs in our office to help with enrollment and Imagination Library operations
- Enrolling newborns at hospitals
- Crafting work for upcycling damaged books into enrollment displays or for special events
- Staffing tables at special events or speaking to organizations about the program and its impact
- Delivering books to schools or organizations
- Being a champion of the program in your community – spreading the word by various means
Interested? Contact Joan Spoerl at jspoerl@literacycooperative.org for more information or apply HERE. Thank you for your advocacy and assistance!
Other Opportunities
The Literacy Cooperative will announce other volunteering opportunities periodically. Please check back on this page for updates, or subscribe to our mailing list and social media.
